BASIC RULES FOR ROSES.
Certain basic rules of pruning apply to all groups of roses. The aim is generally to cut out all diseased and dead stems and to remove any weak shoots.
On bush and shrub roses, completely remove all tangled and crossing branches to open up the centre of the rose.
On climbing cultivars, separate any tangled branches by training them apart rather than by cutting them.
Always cut back to a dormant bud (which will eventually grow into a new shoot), preferably an outward-facing one do that the rose will develop with an open centre.
Make all pruning cuts just above a bud and slanting down, away from it.
The first time roses are pruned (after the pre-planting trim) they should be cut back fairly drastically. The idea is to encourage a good framework of strong shoots from the base of the plant. It will also reduce the strain on the root system, which will not have had much time to become strongly established.
The first step is to remove any damaged, dead and weak shoots right back to the junction with the main stems or the rootstock. Then prune large-flowered (hybrid tea) types back to an outward-facing bud about 4in above the ground.
Cut back new cluster-flowered (floribunda) roses to around 5-6in, and miniatures to 2-3in.

THE FIRST CUT.
Prune roses that have come straight from the nursery before planting, but once planted do not prune shrub roses in the first year, apart from removing dead or damaged shoots, as they flower on wood produced in the previous season.
For the same reason, climbers, ramblers and species roses should not be pruned in the first year after planting, apart from removing any weak or damaged shoots and about 3in from the tips of the stems.
In subsequent years, in spring, prune large-flowered cultivars to four or five buds from the base, and cluster-flowered to six or seven buds.
Do not cut back cultivars grown as standards as hard: leave 10-12in extending from where the bushy part joins the top of the main stem.
Miniature roses require little pruning. Simply cut off the thin ends of branches, and cut back diseased or damaged branches to sound wood.
Similarly, shrub roses need only the occasional removal of old, dead or damaged shoots.
To prune climbers, first trim back the flowered shoots to two or three buds immediately after flowering. In winter, remove dead, diseased and spindly wood, and cut back the leading stems to strong new shoots. This ensures the regular replacement of old wood by young, healthy wood. If no strong shoots have grown from a leader, prune it and its laterals by about half.
When an old stem ceases to throw out new shoots, remove it to promote new growth from the base of the climber.
Prune ramblers, whose new growth springs liberally from the base of the plant, by cutting flower-bearing stems to near ground level immediately after flowering. Tie in new stems to replace them in the following year. If new stems are usually produced from a point halfway or lower on the old stems, cut back the old stems to that point.
Most large-flowered and cluster-flowered bush roses need shortening and tidying up in late autumn so that they are not damaged by strong winds; do not prune completely as frosts can damage developing shoots.
Remove all dead flower heads and cut back all strong shoots by a third. Carry out the main pruning, outlined above, in spring. In summer, deadhead regularly to promote continuity of bloom. Lightly prune to an outward-facing bud after all the flowers in a cluster on a stem have died.

See also: Pruning